Daughter of Goku Enemy of Mine
by Mia Jones
Summary: AU Basically, what if Goku had a daughter instead of Gohan. Vegeta loves her, but how can he deal with loving the children of his greatest enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Author's note:

Ok, this is a huge "note." Basically, I want to rewrite some of Dragon Ball Z under the premise that Goku's first born child (Gohan in the series) is actually a girl with similar, but also different traits. Why would I be processed to do this? Well, let me first warn you that this is NOT a self-insert fic. I hate those. Is there anything worse than a character that is so disgustingly perfect and so obviously the narcissistic "fictional" author? So this story is not about me. It is about how I've always dealt with stories in the sense that I need to feel as if I can inhabit one of the characters and live out the story through them, but without changing them. Well, Gohan has always been one of my favorite characters. So when I replay DBZ episodes and tweak the plots a little in my head, I always found that it just worked better for me if Gohan were a girl. She's different, but retains that very likable pure heartedness of Gohan along with his general dependability and intelligence. But here was always my dilemma. I also love Vegeta. In fact I would have to say he's my favorite, but I never could turn him into a girl in my head. That just ruined the essence of his very masculine character. My compromise? My "daughter of Goku" and Vegeta always fell in love in my head. I love the Bulma and Vegeta pairing, but the problem with it is there's no room for the martial arts between them. They can't really share that and it's the martial arts of DBZ that makes it so fun and different. So this has always been how I improvised DBZ for my own pleasure. I've long been tempted to actually write down one of my little DBZ stories, but I have always been afraid that people will completely reject the entire premise of "daughter of Goku." Lord knows I have read the first paragraph of hundreds of fanfics only to be annoyed at the entire premise. But I will give this one a shot anyway, because I love my characters. Hopefully, you will too.

Mia

P.S. I had trouble thinking of a name for my character. "Gohana" is just all wrong. So how about, Mai

Vegeta was dreaming. The Dragon Balls had revived his planet and he was returning victoriously to his home, complete with a parade in his honor. His father was even there to give him the tiniest nod of approval, which was an even greater event than the whole parade. It was one of those rare dreams where Vegeta didn't want it to end. Anything, to see his world of orange skies and endless plains again.

But a very sharp prod roused him, though he fought to remain in the pleasant dream. His father was even abdicating the throne so his son could finally be King. However, something was scampering all over him and wiggling around.

Vegeta cracked an eye open and saw Goten wrestling with his leg, attacking the gold tipped boot. The dream was gone and he knew that he probably wouldn't have another like it for a long time. It was unfortunate, he wished for not the first time that he could actually choose his dreams.

"Vegeta, come on, play with me," Goten growled. The half-saiyan boy chewed on the boot. Vegeta sighed and kicked the boy away. Goten skidded to a stop a few feet away, looked up and grinned at the young man who lay on the ground with his back propped up against the back of the sofa, arms crossed over his chest.

"Vegeta," Goten whined. He scrambled back up to sit in the Saiyan Prince's lap. Vegeta finally looked down coldly at the boy. Again, the boy smiled.

"Come outside and play with me," Goten demanded. Vegeta closed his eyes and sneered. With one quick swipe, he smacked the boy into the wall. Plaster muffled Goten's laughs.

"Hee hee hee," he giggled. Vegeta smirked almost imperceptibly.

"Vegeta! Stop hurting Goten," Chichi scolded from the kitchen. It was only three o'clock, but she was already bent over the stove preparing dinner. Three electric rice cookers were bubbling away, adding to what was already a mountain of cool rice resting in massive bowls on the counter. Vegeta stomach growled. Goten squatted next to Vegeta and poked his belly.

"Quit pestering me brat," he spat. The two young saiyans stared each other down, Vegeta still hadn't moved from his comfortable spot behind the couch, until finally he grew bored and broke the competition. He bumped his head gently against Goten's and nuzzled him away with the same begrudging love of a lion to its cub. Goten returned the soft head butt.

"Let's go," Vegeta mumbled. Goten scrambled to his feet.

"Are we going to pick up Mai?" he asked excitedly. "And then can we train," Goten continued, dancing from foot to foot.

"Whatever," Vegeta growled and strode out the room with Goten following like a puppy. He knew that "whatever" often meant yes for Vegeta.

"Bye mom! We're going to get Mai! We'll be back for dinner," Goten shouted to his mother's back in the kitchen.

Chichi spun around with a spatula held defensively like a sword. She frowned at Vegeta and looked nervously as her son clung to the leg of the much larger saiyan. Vegeta sniffed and crossed his arms, wearing that mask of hate that he used so often, but he really couldn't help himself from inhaling that intoxicating sent of dinner. Cooked eggs. Chopped ham. Soy sauce. Looked like the makings of fried rice.

As the two saiyans left, Goten waving wildly, Chichi didn't lower her spatula.

"She's never going to trust me," Vegeta thought to himself as Goten and he took off and flew over the mountainside. It bothered him that the stupid female and her distrust bothered him. "Earth has made me so weak," he thought and sighed heavily. Goten didn't notice Vegeta's poor mood. He was too busy counting how many people had pools as they neared West City.

"There's her school!" he shouted excitedly, just like he did every day, as if it really did surprise him every single day that they found it again. Vegeta rolled his eyes. They landed in the school yard and perched atop a tree.

The bell tolled loudly. Vegeta shrank into his shoulders to escape the grating sound. Boys and girls, only a few years younger than Vegeta poured out the school building. Vegeta's heart began to thud, and he was mortified to feel a blush burning up down his ears, threatening his cheeks. He scanned the masses of dark hair and navy blue uniforms.

"There she is!" Goten shouted, pointing at the one red head that stood out in the bunch. Vegeta sighed, then snorted, then looked away, then looked back. The red hair had been a mystery to her parents and friends. Both her parents had black hair, but Mai was like a sunbeam. Vegeta knew that it wasn't uncommon for Saiyan females to take unusual coloring. They were so rare, perhaps the coloring was an evolution to make Saiyan males (typically stupid) appreciate their counterparts. A biological signal of worth and specialty.

"Mai! Oh, Maiiii!"Goten called, waving to his sister. She smiled and waved back. She skipped once and bounded into the tree to join them. Her classmates, gawked.

"They'll never understand her, no matter how many times they see it," Vegeta thought to himself. Shen settled down on a branch beside him and smoothed her skirt before looking up at Vegeta, who was doing his best to ignore her. She tucked a stray piece of shaggy hair behind her ear before softly rubbing her nose against his arm.

"Are you wiping your boogers on me?" he snapped at her. Shen simply smiled back.

"Thanks for coming to get me…" she began. Vegeta started to lean closer to her, however she continued to speak, "…but I promised I would walk home with Akira today." He froze. "Who?" he asked himself. Blood rushed to his temples.

"So I will see you at dinner, ok?" Shen stated, jumped off the tree and landed gracefully beside a young, gawky man who waited beneath the foliage.

"Wh-" Vegeta stuttered, but didn't know what to say. He had to calm himself with the techniques his father had shown him as a child. He counted ten long breaths, returning to his normal composure. He had almost lost control, which seemed to be happening more frequently in the past months.

"Mai's got a boyfriend, Mai's got a boyfriend!" Goten called down at his sister, who ignored him, dragging the young man behind her. Goten looked back at Vegeta behind him in the tree. He was a little startled to see the Prince's temple pulsing, ticking like a bomb. Despite his exercises, Vegeta still looked like he was choking.

"Vegeta?" Goten asked innocently.

"Stupid wench. How dare she let a low-life earthling touch her," Vegeta growled dangerously. He began to levitate above the tree and Goten recognized the aggressive stance the older saiyan took.

"You're not seriously worried about her are you?" Goten called up to Vegeta, but Vegeta didn't even look down at the boy. "I was just teasing her, that's really not her boyfriend," Goten pleaded as he felt Vegeta's ki begin to rumble. Goten snapped his fingers and jumped up to hover face to face with the saiyan.

"Why does a Prince like you care?" Goten asked viciously. The trick worked and Vegeta's power plummeted. His shoulders pulled back and the sneer returned to his face.

"I don't, but saiyans shouldn't associate with powerless little earthlings. It's unseemly."

"Sure, Vegeta, suuuure," Goten laughed. "Let's go train." But Vegeta wouldn't move and he wouldn't stop staring at the redhead which bobbed below him. She was standing stiffly listening to the boy, nodding her head vigorously every few seconds.

"Feh," said Vegeta and flew away with Goten directly behind him.

Later as the two saiyans sparred in a grassy field near the house (so they could smell the moment dinner was done), Vegeta struck at Goten but the young boy dodged it easily. Goten frowned.

"What's up with you? You stink today."

Vegeta looked shocked and considered blasting the boy. "I should send you to hell!" he roared, but Goten didn't even flinch. He just laughed, which completely disarmed Vegeta. "How dare you laugh at me, fool! You're as stupid as your third-class father!" But this just made Goten giggle harder.

"You would never hurt me, would you Vegeta?" Goten asked softly, smiling up at the horrified looking prince. Vegeta sighed and turned his back to the boy, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

"How did this happen?" Vegeta asked himself and walked away from Goten and the house. Goten ran up from behind and grabbed Vegeta's tail, pulling on it playfully. Vegeta stopped and glared down at the boy who didn't care about the Prince's foul mood.

"You should be my enemy. You're my enemy's son," Vegeta spat. "And so should she," the Prince whispered, but Goten wasn't even listening. Vegeta's tail was far too much fun to swing on.

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Vegeta brushed his teeth dejectedly. He could barely bring himself to spit the foam out. He sighed loudly. Goten spat the foam all over his mouth, and growled like a rabid dog in the mirror. Vegeta knocked the silly boy from behind with a swift knee to the head. Goten sputtered and spat the remaining toothpaste into the sink. He coughed a few times before raising his hands up to Vegeta, opening and closing his pudgy fingers pathetically. Vegeta didn't look at him or stop brushing his teeth, but with his free hand he filled a cup with water and handed it to Goten. Goten swallowed it greedily before offering the empty cup to Vegeta again. They repeated the process twice more, until the saiyan prince had finally finished brushing his own teeth. Goten smiled, baring his fangs warmly to Vegeta.

"All clean?"

Vegeta showed his own fangs in response. Goten nodded his head gravely.

"This is what I am reduced to," Vegeta thought sadly to himself. "I used to make entire civilizations cry for mercy, and I never gave it to them. Now my greatest adventure…getting a five year old boy to brush his teeth." Tired of sighing, Vegeta lifted Goten with one well-muscled arm, and threw the boy into bed.

"Where is Mai?" asked Goten as he snuggled his way head first into the sheets before turning around to lay his spiky head on the pillow. The question made Vegeta tense up further. He would not be sleeping much tonight.

"Might as well train then," he thought to himself. "I don't know, now go to sleep," he answered harshly to Goten. But Goten never flinched when Vegeta yelled.

"Tell my about my Daddy," Goten demanded, his eyes already drooping. Vegeta snorted and crossed his arms. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the short bed frame so he and Goten were at nearly the same level.

"You're father was the most infuriating saiyan I had ever met. He was my greatest enemy."

"That's all you ever say about him," Goten muttered sleepily.

"I hated your father, I still do."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Idiot. I was going to kill him."

But Goten had already fallen asleep. Vegeta sighed again, then growled at himself for sighing and being so weak. He let his head fall back onto the bed so he just brushed against Goten's arm. The boy was already drooling.

"You two always look so cute together."

Vegeta snapped to attention, realizing that he had been dozing. "No wonder I didn't feel her ki return," he thought to himself.

Mai sauntered into the room. She had already changed out of her school uniform into a soft tee-shirt and pajama bottoms, which were covered with a pattern of Dragon Balls. She knelt beside Vegeta onto the futon that was his own bed beside Goten's. They sat silently, not looking at each other. For the first time since he had seen her earlier in the day, Vegeta felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Sorry you came all that way to pick me up today," apologized Mai. She began to braid her hair into a thick plait. Vegeta watched her hands out of the corner of his eye.

"You should be, woman," he growled. "Now get out of my bed."

"If you want me to, I have a lot of homework to do and I haven't even started yet," she replied, completely unfazed by his stern tone. She began to rise, powerfully and gracefully without using her hands which were still wrapped up in her thick hair.

"You didn't train today," Vegeta stated flatly. Mai paused in mid-crouch, in perfect balance. She stared into his black eyes. Hers were darkly green, without the faintest impurity of color.

"I wanted to, but then Akira asked me out to get something to eat," she replied sinking back down into his cushiony futon.

Vegeta moved his leg as if to kick her, but the move only turned into a slightly affectionate shove. Mai let her body sway passively against the tap. "I shouldn't have to tell you…" he began, his voice rumbling in his chest.

"…Don't lower myself with Earthlings?" Mai finished for him just as she tied her braid off with a band. She threw the plait over her shoulder and leaned closer to him on her knees and hands. "Vegeta, I am an Earthling," she whispered.

"Look to your better side," he snorted in reply. Mai didn't bother to speak any more, but she did butt her head against his chest and collapsed into his arms. She ran her face against his muscles, feeling them flex in response. He pushed one hand against her shoulder, as if to push her off his body, but he gave only a tired effort and held her harder with the other arm flexed around her tiny waist. Mai moved even closer, until she sat comfortably in his lap. She buried her face against his neck. He purred, and ran his fingers through her hair, gently undoing her braid.

"Let me groom you," he asked gruffly, though it sounded more like a demand. Mai nodded her head and undid the band that tied her hair.

"Only if I can do you too," she replied. Vegeta nodded and began to work his hands and teeth through her hair, softly across her scalp, and almost imperceptibly down her back. He raised her tee-shirt to feel the skin tenderly down her spine.

But Vegeta's turn to be groomed never came. Mai fell asleep curled in his arms. He knew she would insist on giving his turn first tomorrow. She was always fair, so he didn't complain.

He laid her gently in his own bed, but didn't fall into it himself. His blood was too hot and content to trust himself at the moment. He slipped out the open window into the cool night. Looking over his shoulder he saw that Goten and Mai, brother and sister were both drooling in their sleep. He smirked at all that was left of his saiyan family. The earliest cicadas of the season buzzed lazily in the trees. Vegeta flew a little ways to his favorite secluded tree. He straddled a limb gingerly, and rested against the massive trunk, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Wench took my bed," he muttered in mock anger, but his ears burned. Vegeta opened his eyes and stared into the sky where the moon should have rested.

"I hate you Goku."

"I know Vegeta, I know," came the soft and sad voice which often entered the saiyan prince's head.

"I should have been the one to defeat you. You should have lived."

"That's in the past now, Vegeta."

They were silent for several minutes.

"How are they?"

"Who, fool, the family you left behind?" Vegeta grumbled. "They're fine."

"Thank you for taking care of them."

"I'm not taking care of them! I don't take care of anybody but myself. I have no time for foolish…"

"…sentiment. I know, Vegeta. You're so predicatable."

Vegeta couldn't help but note, as he always did, that the voice sounded so sad. Not like his former goofy and foolish self. The man Vegeta knew before didn't know what it meant to be sad. He was either angry, happy, or confused. He was just that simple. But now that he was gone, he only spoke to Vegeta in tones of regret.

"Tell me about Goten."

"Why should I." But the voice didn't bite Vegeta's bait. The prince sighed, "Only that he asks about you."

"And Mai?"

But Vegeta wouldn't answer this question. He wasn't sure where to begin and if he might blurt something that he would regret telling her father.

They didn't speak for another hour. Vegeta thought perhaps he had finished talking so the Prince ventured to say something that was really meant only for himself.

"How did this happen, Kakarott? How could I be helping you?"

"Because you do it for the love of them," came the honest reply. Vegeta startled. He hadn't wanted to hear the answer to his own question. "Which makes me love you," continued the haunting voice. These were words Vegeta would never share with another creature. He flew into a rage, bursting with energy.

"Curse you, I hate you all! I don't do this for anyone but myself!" But even as he destroyed the woods in a circle around his body, crackling with energy, he knew he lied. He knew he would calm down. He knew he would return to his room, and he knew he would hold both Goten and Mai in his arms as he fell asleep. Holding his tiny family against everything that seemed to threaten them in the universe.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: Secondary goal, to create a different mythos of the saiyans. I want to portray how they acted in circumstances beyond battle.

Daughter of Goku, Enemy of Mine

Chapter 2

Vegeta awoke nestled in the cushions of his futon and his woman's body. Just as he had expected, some time in the night he had returned to his room. Goten had wriggled around as he slept so now as the soft play of light descended into the room, the young saiyan sprawled half off the futon, snoring loudly. The boy whimpered in his sleep and kicked his feet at Vegeta's back as if he were trying to run. Vegeta didn't bother to reposition Goten; the boy seemed to like sleeping uncomfortably. Instead, the saiyan prince concentrated on the slight young woman in his arms. Her lips rested just barely against his bare arm.

"Half-breed," Vegeta growled and blew gently on her face. Mai wrinkled her nose and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few moments, then relaxed again and sank into Vegeta's bare chest.

"Good morning," Mai sighed happily. She shifted so her face rested beside his on the pillow. He nipped her nose in response. Mai began to fall back asleep, but a clanking sound downstairs roused her again. She furrowed her brows at the noise.

"Take a bath with me," Vegeta demanded softly. Mai grinned wickedly.

"Ok!" came a little voice behind them. Goten rubbed his eyes vigorously and jumped on top of Vegeta. The Prince shrugged off the boy and batted him away each time the kid returned.

"Not you, boy," Vegeta barked. But Goten wouldn't leave the older saiyan alone. The two wrestled, which enticed Mai to leave the bed for calmer pastures. Vegeta tried to grab her hand to make her stay, but Goten knocked him over on to his belly. Vegeta snatched the back of Goten's head with inhuman speed and ground the boy down into the pillow. Then he twisted the blankets around the boy, trapping him in a cocoon.

"Let me out, Vegeta!" Goten yelled, wiggling helplessly in the ball of covers that trapped his arms and legs, leaving his head to poke out the top. But Vegeta ignored him and stumbled out of bed, giving chase to Mai. Down the hall he raced to cut her off at the bathroom, but he slowed momentarily as he crossed the door to the kitchen. Pots and pans lay scattered all over the floor. Chichi rested in a chair drawn up to face the window. Her head leaned heavily against one arm.

"What's her problem?" Vegeta asked himself, but kept moving to catch his Mai. However, he was too late. The bathroom door had already slammed shut. Vegeta skidded to a stop, slipping slightly on the rug. He looked around him to see if any had noticed his little clumsiness. He cleared his throat softly and leaned against the wood door. Inside he could hear her humming. Water roared as the bathtub filled. Vegeta scratched lightly against the door and grew excited when he heard her soft footsteps padding across the tile closer to him

"Not today Vegeta. Wash Goten for me, will you?"

His stomach sank. "Let me in now," he grumbled, putting his entire body weight on forehead and leaning against the door.

"No, I have school today," she chirped through the door. He could hear her clothes fall to the floor, and the gentle sound of water sloshing as she slipped into the bath. Vegeta sighed and punched the door so it rattled in its frame. Mai giggled to taunt him further.

"What's the point of going to school," he growled and stalked back to his room. Faintly, he could still hear Goten struggling and cursing the Prince's name. However, Vegeta paused outside the kitchen again. Chichi had not moved from her spot. He walked into the room and kicked a pot with his bare foot.

"What's this mess, woman?" he sneered, but Chichi didn't respond. Even her breathing was still and had a sense of what Vegeta could only call surrender. "Pathetic," he thought to himself in contempt. The woman had never been strong as long as he had known her. Always, it seemed she was on the verge of another collapse. He snorted again and with a little telekinesis, he guided the pots and pans back to their places in the kitchen. Cabinets opened and shut, slamming very loudly, as the cooking gear flew back in place. The clattering noise woke Chichi from her stupor just as Vegeta was turning around to leave her.

"Why are you here?" she asked him, her voice hateful and muffled against the window she faced. Vegeta clenched his jaw. He gripped the doorframe, cracking it slightly.

"Stupid question, wench," he growled and stomped away. He was so angry that he accidentally slammed into Mai who was wrapped in a plush towel, dripping on the floor. Water slicked off her hair and down her neck. Vegeta gently held her away from his body, momentarily entranced by her feral eyes and matted hair. Mai knew that Vegeta rarely made mistakes; he never "accidentally" did anything. But when he did, she knew something was upsetting his calculated cool. His eyes would yield no information, so she glanced over his shoulder and saw her mother staring out the window. There was no breakfast on the table. Mai sighed and looked back up at Vegeta. He growled softly. They shared the same thought: the memory of the months following Goku's death.

Mai quietly broke Vegeta's grasp and swept into her own room, closing the door firmly. She leaned back against the security of her door and sighed, letting the towel drop. She liked the tingling feeling of her damp skin drying in the air. As rifled through her underwear drawer, she let her thoughts drift back in time, almost five years ago.

She had been foraging in the woods for food. Already, her basket was filled with mushrooms and some berries. It had been hard, stooping over for so long, especially with the weight of the baby fast asleep on her back. She had tied Goten to her, piggy back style, with a long strip of cloth wound around her waist and secured around his fat little body. Her back was damp with sweat and the little boy's drool. She had been so worried to find another piece of food that she hadn't noticed the suppressed ki that was following her.

Vegeta returned to his room and grabbed a clean towel. Goten had already struggled out of his blankets and what appeared to be his clothes in the process. The boy rustled through the room, completely naked and undisturbed by Vegeta. The older saiyan tossed another towel to the boy who buried his face into it gladly. Goten then ran ahead of Vegeta to the bathroom. The Prince followed more slowly, carefully averting his eyes from the kitchen.

"Vegeta!" Goten whined, sticking his head out the bathroom door. "I dropped my tooth brush down the sink drain!"

Vegeta closed his eyes and thought of the orange plains of Vegetasei to calm himself. But his thoughts wouldn't remain in peace. He opened his eyes again and Goten stared piteously up at him, looking as if he were about to cry, pointing excitedly at the sink drain. Vegeta remembered seeing that same goofy face for the first time, strapped to Mai's back all those years ago. "You have no idea how close you were to dieing," he thought to himself, looking down at the boy as he fished the now very dirty toothbrush out the drain.

He had sense Mai's familiar ki while he was training in the mountains. Fighting an invisible opponent, screaming with rage and frustration, he had froze in the air when he felt that little twinge of recognition. "It's Goku's daughter," he had thought to himself, suddenly curious. He powered down, aware that there was only so much he could do sparring by himself. What he needed was someone to fight, to beat up and regain some of his old confidence. So he had flown towards her ki, excited to see her again. She had beat him once before in her saiyan ape form, but he knew he could defeat her. He was older now and better trained. His fifteenth birthday had just been the other day. For all he knew, her training had ended with the death of her Father and after her defeat of Cell.

"This will be fun," he had thought to himself.

However, he had been shocked when he found her. Inside the cover of the tree branches, he watched as she searched the ground for food. "How beneath her," he had thought. But what disturbed him even more was the child strapped to her back. "But how?"

He had known she was maybe two years younger than him, and though thirteen seemed far too young to have a baby, he knew it wasn't impossible. His pulse had pounded. "Who had touched her?" he had wondered. "Who ruined this fighter. She could have been the best."

Vegeta sighed, which he was getting very tired of doing, as he rubbed the shampoo into Goten's hair. Goten sat very content on the tiled floor. He choked a little when Vegeta poured the pan of warm water over his head, washing away the suds. Then the two of them sank into the steaming bath tub, enjoying the peace of a boy to young and a man to old to have to go to school.

"She had looked so sad," Vegeta thought to himself, placing a damp washcloth over his wilting hair. He looked down as Goten ducked under the water again, testing how long he could hold his breath. Bubbles trickled to the surface from the boy's still grinning mouth. "I had hated you. I hadn't known till then, but I was counting on her as the last female saiyan. I was so…disappointed," Vegeta conceded to himself.

Watching her through the leaves, he had felt his stomach lurch when she untied the cloth from her waist and gently lowered the baby onto the mossy turf. Carefully and lovingly, she had wrapped him in a bundle. On her hands and knees she had plucked mushrooms off the ground and tossed them carefully into her basket. Obliviously, she wandered further and further away from the little boy, who was still fast asleep. Stealthily, Vegeta had slipped down from the tree and landed silently behind her. Creeping slowly to the baby, he glanced back at Mai who still had her back turned to them. Raising one hand above his head, Vegeta had taken a final good look at the baby.

"Disgusting, he looks exactly like his grandfather. Goku…" he had sneered to himself. But in that moment of pause, Mai had felt an aura of evil invade her calm. She had whipped around, still crouching on the ground, to see Vegeta about to strike Goten.

"Stop!" she had screamed, blasting a ball of energy at the saiyan. Vegeta had glanced up barely in time and his eyes widened to see the immense mass and power of the ball bearing down on him. He had bent his neck out of the way and the blast sailed beyond him, incinerating a path to a distant mountain which exploded moments later. The noise had waked Goten who bawled. In that split second, Mai had moved over her brother's body, protecting him from the tyrant who still had his hand raised.

"Move!" he had roared. She shook her head and held the boy closer to her body. He kicked her, sending the two flying. But she had risen, unhurt, though the baby cried harder from fear.

"Why are you doing this, Vegeta?" She had been wearing a cloak, which she wrapped protectively around Goten.

"I won't tolerate another man's child," he had spat. She pulled back in confusion, narrowing her eyes. Like a lion, he would accept no one else's cubs but his own.

"When did you ever have a claim to me?" she had whispered, incredulously. Desperately, she searched for an opening to leave the crazed saiyan. But he was so quick and clever. His eyes searched her every move.

"I'm prince of the saiyans, so you belong to me. Now give me the brat and I will put him out quickly."

"Vegeta, he's my brother," Mai had stated flatly. Vegeta was so surprised, he had stepped back. It wasn't her child after all. He had pointed at the wailing baby.

"Goku's?" he had asked. Mai had nodded, but didn't let her guard down. She wasn't sure if this information would calm him. She had known how much Vegeta hated Goku. No matter how hard he had tried, Vegeta never could outstrip her father, and that hurt worse than any physical attack he had endured from the fellow saiyan. Vegeta snorted, completely unsure of how he felt. Mai's red hair had fallen over her eyes and she had hugged her brother closer.

"Wench, I should kill you both."

Mai had nodded her head, preparing herself for battle, but her pounding heart had been completely unprepared for his next speech.

"But, I can't lose any more of my race." Vegeta swallowed and stalked away. "I will never forgive either of you for being Goku's children. But he's gone, so you're mine."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Author's note: I combined the previous chapters 1 and 2 because it seemed like people weren't getting past the first chapter and I think Vegeta's development only really started in the second. So I combined them so people might get hooked a little better. So here's the new chapter 3.

Read and review!

Chapter 3

Mai sat cross-legged on nimbus, heedless if the wind ruffled her skirt or exposed her. There was no one to watch anyway. She was nearly eighteen now. High school was almost finished, though she attended only for formality. Her mother had long ago pushed beyond these grades. But then Goku had died and education didn't seem to matter to Chichi anymore. Goten was evidence of that. His schooling consisted almost entirely of what Vegeta was in the mood to teach him, and Mai was suspicious that Vegeta's idea of schooling might be very different from hers. She sighed. Always, her thoughts returned to Vegeta. What an odd family they made together.

After their meeting in the woods, which was nearly a year after Cell's defeat, he didn't move in with the Sons immediately. "No, it took a long time," Mai thought to herself. He had never wanted to take over Goku's family. He made it very clear that he had nothing to gain standing by them.

"Weaklings, all of you," he had grumbled more than once. But he usually only spat this remark in front of her mother, who Mai had to admit, hadn't fared well since Goku's death. She always seemed like a strong woman; in fact she was one of the few people whom Goku really feared. But after his death, Chichi began to fade.

Almost six years ago, Mai had noticed that her mother's tummy began to swell suspiciously. Chichi never announced she was pregnant. Mai simply assumed and was correct. When Goten was born, Chichi held him listlessly and looked for the first excuse to hand the baby off to Mai. The young, saiyan woman was dumbfounded how similar Goten looked to Goku. The same spiky black hair and goofy grin. And like all the Sons, he was ferocious but wouldn't harm a fly. Mai loved how Goku seemed to live again through his son. But, Goten's uncanny looks gave Chichi the opposite reaction.

"He just reminds me that Goku's dead," she had sighed and turned away from her son. In those first few months, Chichi could hardly move herself from her chair overlooking the window in the kitchen. She barely spoke. She didn't clean. She only begrudgingly nursed Goten. And she stopped cooking, which worried Mai.

"It's ok, mommy. Don't worry about it," Mai had shrugged. It wasn't fair to make her mother work so hard.

"No wonder I got so good at cooking," Mai thought to herself as she whizzed by an airplane on her golden cloud. But it had been hard, finding food. Hunting and gathering had always been her Daddy's job. He often took her with him when she was really little, but then it seemed like they were constantly fighting off one threat after another. Since the threat of the saiyans, she and her father had lived practically separate lives conjoined only by their common goals to defeat Vegeta, then Freeza, then the Androids, then Cell. There was never a moment just to relax and learn the skills of living and fending for one's self. After her father had died, she found she was suddenly thrust into the role of defending and caring for the family. But with a baby and a mourning woman, the job was simply too much.

Carrying Goten around made hunting nearly impossible. He always had the knack of falling out his little bundle just at the crucially wrong moment. He had been dinosaur food more than once. Berries, fruit and mushrooms alone weren't enough to feed two half-saiyans, though her mother ate hardly anything, anyway.

"When is she going to get better?" Mai asked herself, looking up at the sky. Sunny as usual, it never seemed to reflect their tedious and painful lives. Always, the world looked bright. It dawned on her just at that moment that her mother would probably never get better. She would be erratic at best. Some nights there would be mountains of food for the boys (Mai didn't eat much, the infamous saiyan appetite seemed to be a boy thing), and other days there would be nothing. Not even a word from her mother. Mai sighed heavily and jumped off nimbus, landing deftly on the school blacktop.

"What would we have done without Vegeta?" Food had shown up mysteriously in their yard after that first, violent meeting. Wood was chopped. Wild beasts threatened off the land and kept away from Goten who had been a very precocious toddler. Occasionally she would glimpse him standing watch over their house, on his distant tree perch, silhouetted by the sun. One day she had flown out to meet him and was surprised to find that he didn't flee from her.

"Why are doing this Vegeta? What do you want?" Mai had asked him, pleadingly. She had been afraid that he expected something in return. After their earlier meeting, she was terrified to think that it might be herself that he wanted. But he didn't speak to her, only arched his incredibly arrogant eyes. Then he had launched into an attack, which Mai dodged with all the speed she could muster. Still, he landed a kick on her ribs. She had rubbed them tenderly before realizing he was waiting for her to return the attack. He had grinned so wickedly, his tail lashing furiously. They sparred into the night, exhausting each other. By dawn, Mai had been ready to drop lifelessly to the ground and sleep where ever she lay.

"I'm going to bed," she had told Vegeta and flew back to her home. He had simply hovered, covered in the orange light of dawn clouds, and let her leave.

"He's such a saiyan, always needs someone to fight," Mai huffed aloud, grasping her hands behind her head as she walked down the school halls. Akira chased after her, though she could easily outpace him at a walk even when he was running. "Wow, she's so cool," he thought to himself, though he could never quite catch up to her.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Vegeta! Wait a sec," Goten called after the Prince, who stood erect with his arms crossed just outside. Beside the open door was a small pillow with a yellow sphere nestled in the indent. It had four red stars inside.

"The Dragon Balls…" Vegeta let the thought slide on the fringe of his mind.

"Dear Daddy, let me train hard," Goten announced to the ball, clapped his hands twice and bowed at the waist in a manner that Vegeta had taught him was proper for a saiyan. Vegeta laughed nastily at Goten who peered out of the corner of his eyes at the Prince. "Don't be jealous, just because you don't have a Dragon Ball," Goten growled and stomped past the much taller saiyan with his chin held high. He looked uncannily like Vegeta at that moment.

"That's your great-grandfather's Dragon Ball, stupid," Vegeta said and walked behind Goten so his every step kicked the younger boy in the butt. Goten ground his teeth and spun around.

"Let's go, Veggie head!" he yelled, crouching into the defensive pose Vegeta had taught him at the tender age of two. The Prince shook his head and swatted the boy away like a gnat. Goten flew into a tree and busted it into two pieces. "My head," he whimpered and held the bump with his arms. Vegeta leaned one arm against the wood pile and stared anxiously at the ground.

"I shouldn't be here, I should be at my own home," he mumbled softly. "Goten, let's go, we're getting you're sister," he ordered. Goten forgot his lump and clapped his hands. He took off in the air, leaving a jet stream behind him. Vegeta quickly followed.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Love to hear your reviews. Frankly, I'm getting a little disheartened.

Chapter 4

Mai tapped her pencil against her freckled nose and stared at the ceiling. The teacher droned and scribbled equations on the board that the saiyan female had already differentiated in her head. Ceiling fans whirred against the dead heat. Mai's temples vegan to throb with a dull headache. Everything seemed to press down on her. School had seemed like it would be fun.

"No that's not true," Mai thought silently. "School was just a good excuse to get out of the house." She sighed and rested her chin heavily on her hands, all her weight resting on her bent elbows. "Calculus, what a breezy bore."

Akira leaned out of his seat, gripping the far of edge of his desk to keep himself from falling completely out of his chair. The boy practically panted at his crush, who sat two rows away from him. He tried to smooth out his wrinkled uniform collar, but sweat made it sticky and wilted. "She's so hot," he mumbled without blinking his eyes.

"God, I'm so hot," Mai heaved, dropping her head back and fanning her exposed neck with a spiral notebook. Akira actually moaned aloud, falling onto one knee, drawing disgusted looks from his classmates. He stuck his fingers into his mouth and sucked on them, but his rapture broke. He pointed with a dripping finger to what appeared to be Mai.

"Who's that?" he asked incredulously, his voice cracking. Mai looked at him, slightly disgusted, but putting on a very warm, but…

"What a fake smile," Vegeta sneered, leaning against the glass window, peering into the classroom. He had to cup his hands around his eyes to block out the glare. His legs were planted widely on the thin window ledge with Goten clinging to his boot, staring wide-eyed at the distant ground. "What's your problem, half-breed?" Vegeta asked, tearing his eyes away from Mai.

"We're so high up," Goten chattered and buried his face completely into the crook of Vegeta's knee. The Prince laughed and kicked the boy off his leg and into the air. Goten fell screaming, then stopped in mid-flight. He opened his eyes and looked at his feet hovering in the air.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," he laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Idiot," Vegeta grumbled and returned back to spying on the classroom. By this point, most of the students had backed away from the window, cowering against the far wall. That left only a very annoyed looking Mai sitting by herself in the middle of the room. Empty desks surrounded her. She alone had remained silent when Vegeta had kicked her brother off the ledge. The class had screamed, covering their eyes and burying their faces into their neighbor's shoulders. But when Goten began to fly, then the real hysteria began.

"Oh my god, he's a murderer and he's a freak!" Akira screamed. Mai rolled her eyes, but Vegeta could only see her waving her hands calmly at the frightened class. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped and shook her head. Instead, she rose out of her seat and strutted to the window. She squinted up at Vegeta, who stood a good three feet higher than her on the ledge. He grinned evilly down and rapped playfully on the glass. Mai's pulse began to stir. Only she could see the tiniest ball of energy gathering in his palm. She shook her head, mouthing the word 'no,' but the blast descended, showering the classroom in glass. The fragments blew past Mai, harmless as dust. But her classmates exploded in terror.

"You're disgusting," she growled and leapt through the newly opened window. The broken bits of glass that lined the window like teeth didn't even faze her. She brushed them off and burst into her attack on Vegeta.

"I know," the Prince replied. "Are you going to punish me for being bad?" he chuckled, catching her punch with his hand. Mai pulled back to renew her attack, but she was brought completely off her guard when his hand closed around her fist and dragged her entire body against his own. He purred with wicked delight and promptly bit her ear. Mai yelped, but Vegeta quickly let go and kissed the tiny wound. She struggled, but his strength completely overwhelmed her. She wasn't prepared for this outburst, and truth be told, she was a little distracted that the students, who had spilled out of the building below the two warriors, would be able to see up her skirt.

"Stop Vegeta, I'm wearing a skirt," she pleaded. But he only smelled her hair, and brought her hand closer to his mouth.

"I know, it's ridiculous, look how tiny it is," he growled, letting go of her hand so he could hang his head over her shoulder, watching the skimpy cloth flutter over her rump. Mai took advantage of his own distraction and kneed him in the balls. Vegeta crumpled and burst away from her. He rubbed the spot tenderly.

"Well that' what you get for biting me," Mai spat, and rubbed her ear lobe. Vegeta smiled lopsidedly.

"Just a love bite, woman."

Mai rolled her eyes again and crossed her arms. Vegeta imitated the stance down to her slumped shoulders. Goten, who had hovered safely out of distance, now returned to Vegeta's side. Mai's concentration faltered and she let her arms fall.

"Why does he always go back to Vegeta?" she asked herself sadly. Pulling her shoulders back, she glanced down at the milling crowd below her.

Akira looked up at the three fighters. "I think I can see up her skirt, man, I'm so lucky," he thought excitedly to himself, clenching his hands into fists in an awkward display of warrior's valiancy. The three saiyans were so far above him he hadn't noticed Vegeta's advances on Mai, or the disarming blush she yielded along her collar bone.

"Woman, let's go have fun elsewhere. I don't need an audience."

"Me either," Mai returned then smacked her mouth closed with her hand. "That sounded far too agreeable," she thought. Vegeta smirked. Goten looked dumbfounded. The boy jumped onto Vegeta's back, who caught him easily.

"Let's go," Vegeta ordered and promptly disappeared. But Mai could feel him directly behind her. Goten sniggered softly into the Prince's back. The Prince pushed her along, herding her farther away into the horizon where the mountains peeked. Mai protested softly with each bump, but finally she let him nudge her before him as they escaped the school.

"Wait," she yelled and spread out her arms and legs. Vegeta slammed into her, knocking Goten askew.

"Hey," the boy protested. Vegeta agreed with a low growl.

"I have to tell Akira I won't be going out with him today," Mai smiled sweetly and dropped to the ground. Her aim was nearly perfect. Akira stood wobbling only a few meters away. Mai strode up to him confidently.

"Hey Akira, sorry but I have to…" and she never finished her sentence.

"This is my rival?" Vegeta laughed incredulously leaning his head over her shoulder. He glared at the scrawny boy in the wrinkled uniform.

"Who?" Akira stuttered.

Vegeta grinned and squeezed his arm around Mai's waist. She hummed in annoyance, pushing her hand against his chest. "She's my mate to be, runt."

"Runt?"

"I can't believe I even got worked up about you," he chuckled, and spun Mai around. The two saiyans walked away, although Mai struggled half-heartedly to turn around and give an excuse to Akira. But she never got a word out as Vegeta lifted her effortlessly into the air. Goten followed quickly behind.

"Vegeta?" she asked him softly as the air whipped through their spiky locks.

"Yes, woman."

"Sometimes I hate you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, I love Vegeta," Goten butted in and did a mid-air somersault.. Vegeta looked smugly at Mai, who couldn't help but smile at his raised brows.

"How can you love, him, Goten?" Mai asked her brother and ruffled his hair. "Didn't he kick you off the ledge today?"

"Tee hee, that was fun. I forgot I could fly."

Mai sighed, but it was a sigh that filled her with a sense of ease and relief. Vegeta was an ass, she thought looking sidelong at the stern Prince flying beside her. He would attack her classmates. Harass her brother. _Bite_ her. But they would still love him.

Mai remembered when Vegeta had first entered the Son household unknown to the rest of the family. She had attended school part time in those days. She hadn't wanted to leave Goten all alone with her mother all day, but she couldn't deal with her Chichi's constant sobs. She had to leave occasionally, and her mother had practically forced her to go.

"I'm not doing you any good," Chichi had sniffled, handing her daughter a satchel filled with the workbooks that Mai had already finished.

"Are you sure?" Mai had asked her mother, feeling that incredible guilt pulling down her heart, making it hard to breathe. But it had been easier to leave since Goten tended to be a quiet and easy baby. "He's saiyan, I guess. Tough like Daddy," Mai had thought to herself, stepping out the door.

But one day she had returned home to an empty house. She called into the kitchen, but her mother didn't answer. Nor was there any smell of food or cooking. Mai yelled out into the woods from the front doorstep, but Chichi had apparently left. Mai didn't worry too much.

"She's not the type to leave home for long," Mai had reasoned, tossing her bags on the couch. But she froze, tensing every muscle. Her pulse thumped loudly in her ears. Inside, she had heard a deep male voice talking softly. And she heard her baby brother gurgling.

"Who is that?" Mai had wondered to herself, clenching her hand above her back, searching for the sword she had grown so used to carrying, but had recently given it up for school. She crept through the house on soft knees and light step, sidling her way through each room. But she knew where the stranger lay.

Peering just around the corner into Goten's room, Mai almost laughed, and almost screamed. Inside, Vegeta was holding her brother, bouncing the boy slightly on his hip, muttering incoherent words and phrases. Occasionally, a Japanese sentence entered the mix.

"What a big, stupid, baby you are. Cry baby. Scared off that infernal mother of yours," Vegeta had almost…_cooed_. Mai had once seen the same young man punch his arm through his own comrade. She had seen him crush her own father's legs. She had witnessed Freeza crush the Prince's throat, willing the saiyan to lower himself to the emperor again, and Vegeta had refused.

The same man was now tickling her brother under the chin and biting softly at the boy's fingers when they awkwardly slapped the Prince in the face. More foreign language spilled from Vegeta's throat. It was deep, husky, and Mai had felt indescribably drawn to the words.

"What are you doing?" she had asked softly, stepping out from behind the door and raising her ki gently. Vegeta had turned, looking very startled. His hair stood up a little straighter. Mai had been surprised to see that he held Goten even closer to his chest than before.

"Stupid mother of yours couldn't take it," he sneered.

"When did you become a baby-sitter?" Mai asked, unsure whether she felt angry or not. Vegeta looked almost embarrassed, but he sounded annoyed and combative.

"Have you ever seen your family killed?" he smirked. Mai tensed.

"Yes," she spat blandly. "You basically murdered my father, though he died later with Cell."

"Fool, I know what happened to your father," Vegeta had barked and set Goten roughly into his crib. The baby stood up and grasped at the Prince and pouted. Mai was suspicious that this chance meeting hadn't been the first for Goten and Vegeta. The Prince turned on the balls of his feet and closed the distance between himself and Mai. She had backed into the wall and looked away from his glare.

"I've seen my race destroyed, my entire family gone faster than you can spit." He had stalked out the room, lashing Mai with his muscular tail as he walked past her. The whip stung and she grasped at her arm. "I wouldn't leave the brat with your mother if you want him to live," he had snarled. Goten began to cry forcefully, so Mai had rushed to pick him up. But the baby wouldn't hush without the Prince near.

"Vegeta, why do you look after Goten and me?" Mai asked the Prince flying beside her, momentarily returning to the present.

"Altruism," he snapped. Mai tried to stifle a snort, but she couldn't help herself from laughing. Vegeta smirked and dropped his speed so he could fly just barely brushing against her.

"What's so funny?" he teased her. He bumped his head against her shoulder.

"You are," Mai giggled.

"Let's go to the mountains, to my old place," Vegeta ordered with a nasty grin. Mai halted her merriment and looked confused.

"Why?"

"There's some stuff I want to get settled with you." He glanced back at the boy trailing him, occasionally grabbing his tail for a little ride. "It won't be easy to be rid of the boy for the time I need," he thought silently. Mai swallowed heavily, guessing what would come next.

Author's Note: Reviews make the world go round!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: As always, read, enjoy, review.

Chapter 5

The air became bitingly cold and dry. Mai hugged her arms around her shoulders. She slowed her speed slightly and used some of the ki to warm herself. Vegeta peered at her over his shoulder and frowned. Even Goten had curled into a ball, tucking his little hands underneath Vegeta's shirt and hitching a ride with the Prince. Vegeta growled at Goten and tried to shrug him off as cold air seeped beneath his spandex and weathered armor.

"Weaklings, sometimes you make me seriously doubt that you are saiyans at all," he called roughly behind him. But his companions didn't hear his voice. The wind sang in their numb ears. Mai just concentrated on the mountains below. She searched for the tell tale shadow of the familiar cave.

"Wish I had my cloak," she muttered, rubbing her arms vigorously. Her teeth chattered. She was beginning to feel slow and sleepy. Snow began to tumble out of the sky.

"There it is," Vegeta pointed. He dove down, heedless to Goten's yelps. Mai followed him with a last surge of energy. All three saiyans whipped into the cave. Mai and Goten huddled to Vegeta who sneered down at them. But he raised his ki for their warmth, which made them press even closer. But the Prince broke away and strode deeper into the lightless cave. The small opening gave only a little white light at the entrance, but mostly it let in the cold. Mai scooped up Goten into her arms and followed Vegeta.

"I wonder what's on his mind," she thought silently and burrowed her face against her brother's. He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her closely.

Deeper in the cave, Vegeta stopped and shot a blast of energy at a pile of kindling at his feet. A crackling fire sprang up and alighted the cavern. Vegeta picked up a few pieces of wood from a small pile nearby and fed them into the fire. By the time he was satisfied that the flame had caught, Mai and Goten had arrived. They didn't bother to huddle near the fire, but instead leapt into the pile of furs in the corner. They buried beneath the musty skins. Goten wrapped a mammoth pelt around his shoulders and head. He sat cross-legged with his nose and eyes being the only visible signs of a boy beneath the massive skin. Vegeta smirked at the boy, but followed Mai under the covers. Their breath clouded and hung in the cave.

"What's up, Vegeta?" Mai asked him softly. She leaned her head against his shoulder as he slowly sunk back into the soft heap.

"I've been thinking a lot lately," Vegeta began after a long pause. He reached for a stick that lay beside the bed of pelts. Restlessly, he poked at the fire. Sparks gathered at the low ceiling and died among the stalactites. He glanced over at Goten, who had already fallen over. The Prince waited to hear the boy's tell-tale gurgles that signaled his drift from consciousness. Satisfied, the older saiyan continued. He dropped the stick and fell back completely into the furs he had skinned years ago.

"I don't want to love you anymore," Vegeta muttered. For a moment, Mai didn't understand. The words were no more than growls and rumbles that she could feel in his chest. Quickly, she realized her mistake.

"Why not?" she answered in his choice of the saiyan language. She let the yips and purrs that constituted the words role from deep in her throat.

"Because you do stuff like that and it kills me," Vegeta quipped and stroked her nose with only the lightest touch of his gloved finger. They spoke saiyan so rarely together. He loved it.

"Why can't you love us?"

Vegeta sighed and rolled onto his side to face her. "I can't help Kakarott. I'm not that person. That's not how I was raised." But he paused before ending with a final verbal slap to her face. There was no time like the day to loosen her grip on his love. "You're just dragging me down, bitch."

Mai smacked his face, but quickly withdrew her hand from the cold air that surrounded their bed. She growled like a tigress. "I never asked for your help."

"You were too pitiful, you didn't need to ask," Vegeta snarled and grabbed her shoulders, crushing his fingers into her thin arms. Goten stirred in his sleep, kicking a buck skin from his feet. Both Mai and Vegeta glanced in the boy's direction, tensing, but relaxing when his snores returned.

Mai turned back to face Vegeta and the anger slid away. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed. She tentatively reached one hand up to his face and stroked his cheek.

"I used to be a proud warrior. I was the best, until I met your father," Vegeta stated firmly. "And even now he tortures me with you and that brat."

"Vegeta, hush," Mai whispered and drew him into her arms. The Prince tried to squirm out of her grasp, but finally he rested in her embrace. Slowly his arms crept around her in return.

"I'm going to find the Dragon Balls."

Mai stiffened.

"I will wish to never love you or Goten again. And then I come and kill you both."

"You would never," Mai cried and hugged him tighter. He returned the motion with her same strength and craze. As if both fought the other with love.

"I will," Vegeta sobbed. "I can't take feeling this way about you. It's killing me. And I will always find a way to survive." He buried his face into her neck and began kissing it damply through his tears. For the first time, Mai realized what she stood to lose.

"I was so scared of you at first," she admitted, her own eyes wetting. "I thought you would kill us before. But you didn't."

Vegeta didn't answer her unasked question. Why hadn't he killed them? "You became my family. But now I don't want you. I can't protect you forever," Vegeta cried to himself. "This is goodbye. Then I leave for the Dragon Balls," he whispered in her ear in that deep guttural saiyan. He rolled over so his body pressed down on hers. "It was easier the way I was before."

Mai tried to hold back her sobs, knowing how much Vegeta hated crying. But it didn't help that tears trickled from his own hard eyes. He fumbled with their clothes, tearing and pulling them off their bodies.

"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye," he groaned with each thrust. Mai could only turn and stare at the wall. She couldn't take the regret in his eyes. The light flickered softly and she noticed simple drawings on the stone, scratched in with the ash of burnt wood. There was an emblem of a sun with rays that wavered across the limestone.

Sitting up, fighting Vegeta as he tried to push her back down, Mai clasped her hands against his stubbled cheeks. "I won't let you forget us. I'll fight you for the Dragon Balls. We'll see who gets their wish," she growled proudly. Vegeta grasped her hips, panting like a dog in heat. An evil grin flashed and brightened his face. Tears mingled with sweat until his sadness was swept away in his warmth. Cold air tingled against both of their dewy bodies.

"I will win, woman," he moaned, forcing her to lay on the downy minx fur again. She relented, but bucked her hips in rebellion. They wrestled among the pelts, striking out with thrusts, counter-thrusts, and threats.

"You'll never win, because you really don't want to," Mai snapped back, utterly radiant, glowing bronze in the dark from the fire's fickle light.

Eventually, Vegeta collapsed and nestled his cheek between her breasts. She dragged her sticky fingers through his hair. He would have barked, but he could barely breathe. Mai writhed beneath him, which made him grin regretfully.

"Do you think Goten noticed," she finally asked softly, returning back to Japanese.

Vegeta snorted. "Has he ever before?" Mai nodded in agreement. She wiggled free from Vegeta, who retaliated by spooning her.

"We still have tonight, but tomorrow everything will be different. I won't be your ally," Vegeta sighed in Mai's ear. She mumbled softly, but she barely could keep awake. "You have to remember, I'll be your enemy. Just as I should be. I'll find a way to escape you." The two saiyans tumbled into a dreamless sleep.

Author's Note: Sorry, shorter chapter, but I feel as sleepy as they do.


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